Department of Sociology and Anthropology

International and Global Studies BS - Faculty Affiliates

Carl J. Atkins, Professor and Chair, Department of Performing Arts & Visual Culture
DMA, Eastman School of Music
Office: 1112 Liberal Arts Hall
Tel. 585-475-4439
Email: cjagsh@rit.edu
Research locations: Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Turkey, India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Russia, Argentina, United States
Research topics: Processional Music in the African Diaspora, Music as Social Protest and Commentary, Jazz in Russia, African Influences in the Tango, The Blues.
Courses: Studies in World Music; Blues as Social and Personal Commentary; The Sounds of Protest; African Music Cultures; Tango: The Dance, the Mystery; A History of Afro-American Music.

Joseph M. Henning, Associate Professor, Department of History
Ph.D. in History, American University
Office: 3311 Liberal Arts Hall
Tel. 585-475-2451
Email: joseph.henning@rit.edu
Research locations: United States, Japan
Research topics: History of U.S. foreign relations, U.S.-Japanese relations, Cultural discourses in U.S. foreign relations
Courses: Origins of U.S. Foreign Relations, Modern U.S. Foreign Relations, Terrorism, Intelligence, and War, The United States and Japan

Christine Kray, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
Office: 3169 Eastman
Tel. 585-475-4686
Email: christine.kray@rit.edu
Research locations: Mexico, Belize
Research topics: Economic globalization, colonialism, religion and evangelization, social movements
Courses: Global Economy and the Grassroots; Immigration to the U.S.; Culture and Power in Latin America; Cuisine, Culture, and Power; Ritual and Performance (WI); Writing about Society and Culture (WI); Qualitative Research

Michael Laver, Associate Professor of History, Department of History
Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania
Office: 3104 Liberal Arts Hall
Tel. 585-475-6629
Email: mslgsh@rit.edu
Research locations: Japan, The Netherlands
Research topics: East-West Historical Interactions; Dutch East India Company; Pre-modern Japanese History; East Asian History; Japanese Baseball.
Courses: History of Japan; History of China; East-West Encounters; Conflict in Modern East Asia; Samurai in Word and Image; Histories of Christianity; Baseball East and West.

Michael E. Ruhling, Professor of Performing Arts, Music Director of the RIT Orchestra, Department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture
Ph.D. Catholic University of America
Office: 1110 Liberal Arts Hall
Tel. 585-475-2014
Email: Michael.Ruhling@rit.edu
Research locations: Great Britain, Austria, Russia (as a topic, but haven't been there . . . yet)
Research topics: Orchestral literature, 18th century music performance practices, Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, Beethoven, the symphony in the 18th century, late 18th century aesthetics, 19th century Russian music, music and liturgy
Courses: Music history courses (Haydn, Mozart, & Beethoven; Bach, Handel and the Baroque; Romanticism in Music; History of Musical Instruments), RIT Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, special topics in music and culture (e.g. Russian Music, Italian Opera, Music and the Stage)

Danielle Taana Smith, Associate Professor of Sociology (Director, Honors Program)
Ph.D. University of South Carolina
Orange Hall (Building 13), Room 1322
(585) 475-5133dtsgla@rit.edu
Research locations: US and Liberia
Research topics: Economic sociology, entrepreneurship in African American communities, use of internet technologies among small businesses, refugee communities
Courses: Gender and Health (WI), Global Exiles of War & Terror, Global Slavery and Human Trafficking, Globalization and Security, Population and Society, Diversity in the City, Disaster! Assessing Vulnerabilities and Response to Global States of Emergency, Foundations of Sociology

Ulrike Stroszeck, Senior Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Office: 3156 Eastman
Tel. 585-475-2921
Email: uisgsl@rit.edu
Research locations: France, Germany
Research topics: Francophone North Africa, Camus Studies, Francophone Women Writers, Franco-German Literature and Film, Women's Studies, 20th Century French and German poetry
Courses: Beginning German I and II, Intermediate German I and II, Advanced German I and II, Modern German Culture through Film

Robert Ulin, Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Ph.D. in Anthropology, New School for Social Research
Office: 2136 Eastman
Tel. 585-475-3969
Email: rcugla@rit.edu
Research locations: France
Research topics: Anthropology of Europe and North America, critical theory, political economy, history of anthropology, historical anthropology, globalization, wine and food
Courses: Cultural Anthropology, Social and Cultural Theory, Nationalism and Identity

Hiroko Yamashita, Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University
Office: 3239 Eastman
Tel. 585-475-6074
Email: hxygsl@rit.edu
Research locations: US, Japan
Research topics: Sentence Production, Sentence Processing, Second Language Acquisition, Technology-assisted Language Teaching
Courses: Japanese (all levels), Psycholinguistics, Structure of Japanese Language, Languages in Japanese Society